Development, confirmation, and application of a seeded Escherichia coli process control organism to validate Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi environmental surveillance methods.

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) is the causative agent of Typhoid fever. Blood culture is the gold standard for clinical diagnosis, but this is often difficult to employ in resource limited settings. Environmental surveillance of waste-impacted waters is a promising supplement to clinical surveillance, however validating methods is challenging in regions where S. Typhi concentrations are low. To evaluate existing S. Typhi environmental surveillance methods, a novel process control organism (PCO) was created as a biosafe surrogate. Using a previous described qPCR assay, a modified PCR amplicon for the staG gene was cloned into E. coli. We developed a target region that was recognized by the Typhoid primers in addition to a non-coding internal probe sequence. A multiplex qPCR reaction was developed that differentiates between the typhoid and control targets, with no cross-reactivity or inhibition of the two probes. The PCO was shown to mimic S. Typhi in lab-based experiments with concentration methods using primary wastewater: filter cartridge, recirculating Moore swabs, membrane filtration, and differential centrifugation. Across all methods, the PCO seeded at 10 CFU/mL and 100 CFU/mL was detected in 100% of replicates. The PCO is detected at similar quantification cycle (Cq) values across all methods at 10 CFU/mL (Average = 32.4, STDEV = 1.62). The PCO was also seeded into wastewater at collection sites in Vellore (India) and Blantyre (Malawi) where S. Typhi is endemic. All methods tested in both countries were positive for the seeded PCO. The PCO is an effective way to validate performance of environmental surveillance methods targeting S. Typhi in surface water.

Typhoid Fever Presenting with Ileal Perforation and Gastric Perforation.

Typhoid fever is caused by Salmonella typhi and Salmonella paratyphi. It is a disease of developing countries and is seen among people of low socio-economic status. Patients can develop complications like typhoid intestinal perforation which is associated with higher mortality. A 15-year-old female presented to the emergency pediatric unit with fever, abdominal pain and abdominal distension. She was septic, in respiratory distress, and had marked generalized abdominal tenderness with guarding. An assessment of generalized peritonitis secondary to typhoid intestinal perforation was made. She had exploratory laparotomy with intra-operative findings of ileal perforation and gastric perforation. She had repair of the intestinal and gastric perforations. Our patient presented late with concurrent use of NSAIDs and overwhelming sepsis which likely contributed to the gastric perforation as this is not a usual finding in patients with typhoid intestinal perforation. Gastric perforation is an unusual finding in patients with typhoid intestinal perforation. Typhoid fever and its complications can be easily prevented by the provision of safe water, proper facilities for sanitation, and practicing good hygiene.

La fièvre typhoïde est causée par Salmonella typhi et Salmonella paratyphi. C'est une maladie des pays en développement et elle est observée chez les personnes de bas niveau socio-économique. Les patients peuvent développer des complications telles que la perforation intestinale typhoïdique, associée à une mortalité plus élevée. Une adolescente de 15 ans s'est présentée à l'unité de pédiatrie d'urgence avec de la fièvre, des douleurs abdominales et une distension abdominale. Elle était septique, en détresse respiratoire, et présentait une sensibilité abdominale généralisée marquée avec une défense. Une évaluation d'une péritonite généralisée secondaire à une perforation intestinale typhoïdique a été réalisée. Elle a subi une laparotomie exploratrice révélant une perforation iléale et une perforation gastrique. Des réparations ont été effectuées sur les perforations intestinales et gastriques. Notre patiente s'est présentée tardivement avec une utilisation concomitante d'AINS et une septicémie sévère, ce qui a probablement contribué à la perforation gastrique, car cela n'est pas une découverte habituelle chez les patients atteints de perforation intestinale typhoïdique. La perforation gastrique est une découverte inhabituelle chez les patients atteints de perforation intestinale typhoïdique. La fièvre typhoïde et ses complications peuvent être facilement prévenues par la fourniture d'eau potable, d'installations sanitaires adéquates et en pratiquant une bonne hygiène MOTS-CLÉS: fièvre typhoïde, perforation intestinale, perforation gastrique.

Sensorineural hearing loss as an atypical presentation of typhoid fever: A case report.

Typhoid fever, also known as enteric fever, is a multisystemic infection primarily caused by Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi, and less commonly by Salmonella enterica serotypes Paratyphi A, B, and C. The classic presentation includes fever, malaise, diffuse abdominal pain, and constipation. If left untreated, typhoid fever can progress to delirium, obtundation, intestinal haemorrhage, bowel perforation, and death within a month of onset. However, the clinical course can deviate from the classic stepladder fever pattern, which now occurs in as few as 12% of cases.1 In this report, we describe an atypical presentation as sensorineural hearing loss in an otherwise healthy young male.

Large outbreak of typhoid fever on a river cruise ship used as accommodation for asylum seekers, the Netherlands, 2022.

On 6 April 2022, the Public Health Service of Kennemerland, the Netherlands, was notified about an outbreak of fever and abdominal complaints on a retired river cruise ship, used as shelter for asylum seekers. The diagnosis typhoid fever was confirmed on 7 April. An extensive outbreak investigation was performed. Within 47 days, 72 typhoid fever cases were identified among asylum seekers (n = 52) and staff (n = 20), of which 25 were hospitalised. All recovered after treatment. Consumption of food and tap water on the ship was associated with developing typhoid fever. The freshwater and wastewater tanks shared a common wall with severe corrosion and perforations, enabling wastewater to leak into the freshwater tank at high filling levels. Salmonella Typhi was cultured from the wastewater tank, matching the patient isolates. In the freshwater tank, Salmonella species DNA was detected by PCR, suggesting the presence of the bacterium and supporting the conclusion of contaminated freshwater as the probable source of the outbreak. Outbreaks of uncommon infections may occur if persons from endemic countries are accommodated in crowded conditions. Especially when accommodating migrants on ships, strict supervision on water quality and technical installations are indispensable to guarantee the health and safety of the residents.

Practical approach to a patient with fever who travelled to the tropics.

By 2030, an estimated 2 billion international tourist trips are expected annually worldwide, with citizens of Poland as important contributors. Illness rates among returnees from developing regions range between 43% and 79%. Properly diagnosing fever in these travelers is vital due to potentially serious implications. After visiting tropical and subtropical zones, the main health complaints are diarrhea, fever, and skin lesions. A reliable diagnosis begins with taking a comprehensive travel history and identifying potential risks. In travelers returning from sub­Saharan Africa, malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum is the main cause of fever, affecting 50 in every 1000 cases. Among returnees from Southeast Asia, dengue is dominant, occurring in 50-60 per 1000 cases, and its prevalence rises significantly nowadays. Other significant diseases include chikungunya, Zika, typhoid fever, amebic liver abscess, and occasionally viral hemorrhagic fevers. SARS­CoV­2 and influenza viruses are crucial pathogens as well. An in­depth assessment of the travel history, combined with knowledge on tropical diseases, are key to the diagnostic process, and algorithms may be helpful in selecting appropriate tests and treatment methods.

Case Report: A Case of Complicated Typhoid Fever with Rhabdomyolysis and Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis.

Typhoid fever can have diverse extra-intestinal complications including encephalitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, endocarditis, myocarditis, osteomyelitis, renal abscess, and splenic abscesses. Secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis with rhabdomyolysis is a rare complication of typhoid fever. Here, we present the case of an adolescent with typhoid fever complicated by rhabdomyolysis and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis.

Clinical and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of typhoid fever in children in the era of antibiotic resistance.

Enteric fever remains a significant public health problem in low- and middle-income countries with further challenges from emerging antimicrobial resistance. Our prospective study evaluated the current clinical and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of enteric fever in 88 children and compared it to previously established literature. Enteric fever usually presents with nonspecific signs and symptoms, with predominant respiratory complaints. A paradigm shift in the antimicrobial sensitivity pattern has been noted, with increasing resistance for first-line antibiotics and older antibiotics such as ampicillin, cotrimoxazole, and chloramphenicol showing good sensitivity. Thus, the introduction of the latter merits consideration.

Typhoid fever.

Typhoid fever is an invasive bacterial disease associated with bloodstream infection that causes a high burden of disease in Africa and Asia. Typhoid primarily affects individuals ranging from infants through to young adults. The causative organism, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi is transmitted via the faecal-oral route, crossing the intestinal epithelium and disseminating to systemic and intracellular sites, causing an undifferentiated febrile illness. Blood culture remains the practical reference standard for diagnosis of typhoid fever, where culture testing is available, but novel diagnostic modalities are an important priority under investigation. Since 2017, remarkable progress has been made in defining the global burden of both typhoid fever and antimicrobial resistance; in understanding disease pathogenesis and immunological protection through the use of controlled human infection; and in advancing effective vaccination programmes through strategic multipartner collaboration and targeted clinical trials in multiple high-incidence priority settings. This Primer thus offers a timely update of progress and perspective on future priorities for the global scientific community.

Typhoid spondylodiscitis of the cervical spine.

Spinal infection comprises pyogenic and non-pyogenic spondylodiscitis. This condition may manifest with non-specific clinical symptoms, elevated infective parameters and imaging findings that are difficult to distinguish. The cornerstone of a definitive diagnosis and subsequent successful treatment lies in tissue analysis through culture and histopathological studies. In this context, we present a case of Salmonella pyogenic spondylodiscitis affecting the C5/C6 vertebrae, complicated by Salmonella bacteraemia and characterised by mechanical neck pain that curtails daily activities and overall functioning, although without neurological deficits. The uniqueness of this case stems from its occurrence in an immunocompetent individual from a non-endemic area, with no identifiable sources of Salmonella infection or preceding gastrointestinal symptoms.

Case Report: An Imported Case of Typhoid Fever Combined with Rhabdomyolysis and Multiple Organ Lesions in China.

Here, we report a case of blood culture-confirmed typhoid fever, rhabdomyolysis, and multiple organ damage that arrived in our country from overseas. A 23-year-old male patient presented at our hospital with fever and muscle pain; the condition progressed rapidly. Six days after the onset of symptoms, the patient developed rhabdomyolysis and liver/kidney damage; levels of creatine kinase (CK; maximum peak: 729,869 U/L) and myoglobin (> 3,000 ng/mL) were extremely high, although the extent of renal damage was relatively mild. Blood culture showed Salmonella typhi. The patient received a combination of meropenem and levofloxacin anti-infective therapy, as well as fluid and nutritional metabolic support. He gradually recovered and was discharged after two negative blood cultures. This case highlights the fact that typhoid-induced rhabdomyolysis is a serious, life-threatening disease and that the levels of CK and myoglobin are useful indicators for evaluating typhoid-induced rhabdomyolysis. Clinicians should remain vigilant regarding travel-related illnesses associated with enteric fever.

Utilization Of The Complete Blood Count In Diagnosing Endemic Diseases In Pakistan.

Numerous infectious diseases, including enteric fever, malaria, dengue fever, and, most recently, coronavirus disease-2019, are prevalent in Pakistan. All these diseases have overlapping clinical symptoms and can present a diagnostic challenge for the general practitioner. Since definitive testing for these disorders is time-consuming and expensive, basic clinical testing, such as a complete blood count, should be utilised to supplement clinical diagnosis, when possible. The current narrative review was planned to present specific alterations in haematological parameters for each of these disorders. The review was intended as a guide for practising physicians in their decision-making.

Case of Carbapenem-Resistant Salmonella Typhi Infection, Pakistan, 2022.

Salmonella Typhi infection in a patient in Pakistan initially responded to standard treatment but failed to respond to subsequent treatment. The first strain was susceptible to carbapenems and azithromycin; subsequent strains harbored the NDM-5 gene. Treatment with a combination of intravenous meropenem and colistin was successful. Carbapenem-resistant Salmonella Typhi emergence will hinder treatment.

Novel Heptaplex PCR-Based Diagnostics for Enteric Fever Caused by Typhoidal Salmonella Serovars and Its Applicability in Clinical Blood Culture.

Enteric fever is caused by typhoidal Salmonella serovars (Typhi, Paratyphi A, Paratyphi B, and Paratyphi C). Owing to the importance of Salmonella serovars in clinics and public hygiene, reliable diagnostics for typhoidal serovars are crucial. This study aimed to develop a novel diagnostic tool for typhoidal Salmonella serovars and evaluate the use of human blood for clinically diagnosing enteric fever. Five genes were selected to produce specific PCR results against typhoidal Salmonella serovars based on the genes of Salmonella Typhi. Heptaplex PCR, including genetic markers of generic Salmonella, Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica, and typhoidal Salmonella serovars, was developed. Typhoidal Salmonella heptaplex PCR using genomic DNAs from 200 Salmonella strains (112 serovars) provided specifically amplified PCR products for each typhoidal Salmonella serovar. These results suggest that heptaplex PCR can sufficiently discriminate between typhoidal and nontyphoidal Salmonella serovars. Heptaplex PCR was applied to Salmonella-spiked blood cultures directly and provided diagnostic results after 12- or 13.5-h blood culture. Additionally, it demonstrated diagnostic performance with colonies recovered from a 6-h blood culture. This study provides a reliable DNA-based tool for diagnosing typhoidal Salmonella serovars that may be useful in clinical microbiology and epidemiology.

Surface plasmon resonance-based oligonucleotide biosensor for Salmonella Typhi detection.

Due to high mortality rates, typhoid fever still is one of the major health problems in the world, particularly in developing countries. The lack of highly specific and sensitive diagnostic tests and the great resemblance of typhoid fever symptoms to other diseases made the false-negative diagnosis a major challenge in typhoid fever management. Hence, we decided to design a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) based biosensor for specific detection of Salmonella typhi through DNA hybridization. The results showed that the 10 nM of the synthetic target sequence, as well as 1 nM of PCR product, were the lowest feasible detected concentrations by the designed biosensor. This genosensor was also found to significantly distinguish the complementary sequence with the accuracy of one base mismatch sequence. The surface of the chip can be regenerated with NaOH solution and used for consecutive diagnosis. Therefore, the function of the designed biosensor indicates its high potential for Salmonella typhi detection practice.

Role of TaqMan array card in determining causative organisms of acute febrile illness in hospitalized patients.

BACKGROUND: Acute febrile illness (AFI) is a prevalent disease in developing countries that is difficult to diagnose due to the diversity of infectious organisms and the poor quality of clinical diagnosis. TaqMan array card (TAC) can detect up to 35 AFI-associated organisms in 1.5 h, addressing diagnostic demands. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of TAC in determining the causative organisms in hospitalized AFI patients. METHODS: The study had a cross-sectional design and enrolled 120 admitted patients with persistent fever for three or more days from the medicine ward of Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH) and Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases Hospital (BITID). Blood samples were collected and then subjected to automated BacT/Alert blood culture, microbial culture, TAC assay, and typhoid/paratyphoid test. RESULTS: The total number of study participants was 120, among them 48 (40%) samples showed a positive result in TAC card, 29 (24.16%) were TP positive and nine (7.51%) were culture positive. The number of organisms detected by the TAC card was 13 bacteria, three viruses, one protozoan, and one fungus. The sensitivity and specificity of the TAC assay for different bacterial pathogen compared to blood culture was 44.44%, and 90.99%, respectively. In contrast, the TP test had a sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 80%, respectively, compared to the blood culture test. CONCLUSION: TAC can be a handful tool for detecting multiple organisms in AFI with high specificity which can facilitate early diagnosis of different pathogens contributing to AFI.

Typhoid fever due to laboratory-acquired Salmonella Typhi, confirmed by core genome multi-locus sequence typing.

We present a case of laboratory-acquired Salmonella Typhi, resulting in hospitalization of a technician. Blood and stool cultures revealed a S. Typhi strain, identical to the strain with which the employee had recently worked, confirmed using core-genome multilocus sequence typing. The incident occurred despite working in a biosafety cabinet.

Extensively drug-resistant typhoid fever; it's not that simple: a case report.

Multi-drug resistant strains of Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) has remained endemic in developing countries for the last two decades. With irrational use of antibiotics, an extensively drug-resistant (XDR) strain of S. typhi, sensitive only to Carbapenems and Azithromycin, has evolved which was first reported in Sindh, Pakistan, in 2018. Most of the cases of XDR S. typhi infection treated with antibiotics improve without any complications. Failure to respond to appropriate antibiotics should raise the suspicion of visceral abscesses. Splenic abscess is a rare complication of S. typhi infection. A patient with splenic abscess due to XDR S. typhi has been reported who responded to prolonged antibiotic treatment. We report the case of a young boy from Peshawar with multiple splenic abscesses due to XDR S. typhi which did not respond to percutaneous aspiration and culture-guided antibiotics for two weeks. Eventually, he had to undergo splenectomy. He has remained afebrile since then.